by Bob Velin, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Velin, USA TODAY Sports

Canelo Alvarez's comeback from his first career loss was nothing short of spectacular.

Alvarez, 23, defeated Alfredo Angulo on a 10th-round technical knockout Saturday night in their action-packed non-title super welterweight fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when referee Tony Weeks stopped it, much to the displeasure of the packed house at the Grand Garden Arena.

Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) dominated the fight from the opening bell, throwing hard combinations, powerful jabs and crushing body shots. By the time Weeks halted the fight, Angulo's face showed the damage caused by Alvarez's constant barrage. Both of Angulo's eyes were nearly swollen shut and he had gashes both over and under his left eye.

Alvarez landed 197 power punches to Angulo's 78 in the more than nine rounds of action. Alvarez landed 58% of his punches to just 17% for Angulo. Still, the crowd booed at the stoppage 47 seconds into the 10th round, and Angulo (22-4, 18 KOs) pleaded with Weeks, but to no avail.

"I could've fought another 10 rounds but the referee stopped the fight. It's not my problem," Alvarez said. "I came here to fight."

So did Angulo, and his trainer, Virgil Hunter was not happy with the stoppage. "Of course I'm upset. I told the referee and the doctor that if Canelo puts three to four more good punches on Alfredo, I will stop the fight," Hunter said while holding an ice pack on Angulo's left eye. "And he stopped the fight after one punch. One punch! Everybody knows Alfredo was coming on strong."

Francisco Aguilar, chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said he agreed with Weeks' decision to stop the fight, saying it wasn't just the referee's decision but it was made after several consultations with ringside physician Jay Coates. "Safety is always our first concern and the doctor was watching," Aguilar said.

Alvarez, fighting for the first time since his decisive loss to Floyd Mayweather last September, had been criticized by Hunter for having the body type that tires in the late rounds. But Alvarez showed no signs of slowing down Saturday, looking nearly as strong in the 10th round as he was in the first.

The tough Angulo was also stopped in his last fight by Erislandy Lara after his left eye swelled shut in the 10th round. But he knocked Lara down twice earlier, the first times in his career that has happened.

On this night, however, he was no match for Alvarez in power, quickness and volume of punches.

"We obviously did our homework," Alvarez said. "We knew his style and that the right hand would connect often."

Alvarez, who had come in over the 154-pound weight limit at Friday's weigh-in and had to pay Angulo $100,000 to change it to a 155-pound limit, said he would like to fight the winner of the Sergio Martinez-Miguel Cotto fight at Madison Square Garden in June, but he would not wait.

On the undercard, Leo Santa Cruz overcame a cut from an accidental head butt to retain his WBC super bantamweight title with a near-shutout unanimous-decision victory against challenger Cristian Mijares.

"Mijares is a great boxer, but I did what I needed to do," Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) said. "Being a lefty (Mijares), we had to be 100% ready, and we were."